Creating pure image behind Apink’s success

By Park Gyu-oh

The girl group Apink swept all major music charts in Korea with its song “LUV” when it was released on Monday.

Many have been wondering how the girl group became a sensation in the music industry in such a short amount of time.

While other many K-pop girl groups have adopted a sexy image to gain popularity, Apink focused on maintaining an image of innocence and purity, according to Shinsadong Tiger, the producer of Apink’s new album, which included “LUV.”

The prominent songwriter said in a recent interview with a local news outlet that he wanted Apink to present not only an innocent image but a cute image as well this time.

“So I took a long time to find a way to express the members’ maturity while keeping their identity. I asked myself, ‘When do people feel they are mature while retaining their innocence?’ And I came up with this idea that the time is when people miss their first love,” he said.

“I focused on retrospection. I tried to develop Apink’s pure image, not change it. I emphasized the beat and added more bars in the song to show the changes. Before this song, I tried to express the group’s identity with chord work or musical elements; however, I asked the group for a calm voice to express truthful lyrics in this song,” the producer said.

(Yonhap)

“‘LUV’ is a sad song that talks about the past. I thought if I put spectacular strings in the song, listeners might get too much sentimentalized. Avoiding light or common beats, I adapt hip-hop elements to add heaviness to the song,” the producer said regarding his intention to include hip-hop elements in the song.

He also expressed hope that “LUV” would encourage people who have a busy life. “‘NoNoNo’ was a cheerful healing song and ‘LUV’ is also the same,” he said.

After debuting at the age of 19, Sinsadong Tiger became famous for his work with K-pop artists. He has also been criticized for following trends in popular music and producing commercial music for idol groups. He recently launched his own girl group named EXID.